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     There are more than 800 succulent Euphorbia that can be found akk around the world with centre on the African continent. Among the varous forms and shapes one can find treelike plants which resemble cacti and dwarves that can nearly not be seen for their size. Euphorbia is not closely related to Cactus, but because of convergence in the evolution there are many similarities between these two families. Most prominent examples are Euphorbia obesa Hook and Astrophytum asterias (Zucc.) Lemaire. Many plants are not well known among collectors, some are rarely propagated by nurseries and cannot be obtained. Others are difficult to propagate even if they were discovered years ago and are still too expensive. Therefore they are introduced only into few colletions. Grafting helped a lot in case of difficult species, especially for species of Somalian or Ethiopian origin, two regions with a great abundance of small and curious succulents. However, plants with a caudex can loose their normal appearance through grafting, but rapid growth and higher tolerance for the artificial conditions are guaranteed, and the inflorescence may be richer which is essential for seed production. Hence one can perform ecperiments about the adaptability of the plants.

     My main focus are the geophytes and species originating in Somalia and Ethiopia, furthermore species from Arabia, Yemen and Socotra. This is an interesting region with many new discoveries.

     If you are especially keen on species from Somalia or Ethiopia we may exchange plants. Please contact me:  turbiniformis@aztekia.com.